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Last week’s announcement that the San Francisco 49ers had secured the $1 billion in financing for a new stadium was widely interpreted as marking their move to Santa Clara as a done deal. It is not. While there is no question that the football team is determined to move south, the obstacles in the way remain significant.

What is regrettable is that the franchise has all but foreclosed the option of building its new stadium in San Francisco if the Santa Clara deal falls apart. Mayor Ed Lee is scheduled to meet with 49ers owner Jed York on Thursday to remind the team that a compelling site remains available as part of the Hunters Point redevelopment.

In some ways, the 49ers’ preference for Santa Clara is understandable. The politics are less complicated, the freeway access is smoother and the Silicon Valley location opens up all sorts of sponsorship possibilities.

But the deal that has been put together in Santa Clara includes elements of risk that could raise doubts both in Santa Clara and within the National Football League.

The Santa Clara City Council is expected to vote on the funding plan Tuesday. A day later, the NFL owners meet in Dallas – where the 49ers stadium could become a prime topic of discussion.

While the NFL has contributed up to $150 million to other stadium projects – $300 million for the joint Giants-Jets stadium in suburban New Jersey – its owners might look askance at a project with so much risk and so little public subsidy. Also, the owners might insist on a 49ers-Raiders shared stadium as a condition of league assistance.

Carmen Policy, the former 49ers president who has been working with developer Lennar Urban to keep the San Francisco option open, said other NFL teams have left for the suburbs when it became clear they “could not get it done in their own town.” He said San Francisco has strong advantages for the 49ers – including the possibility of getting multiple Super Bowls.

“The truth of the matter is, I think it’s worth a premium to be in San Francisco,” Policy said.

Mayor Lee needs to drive home that point Thursday. Time is running out.

The billion-dollar questions

The 49ers claim to have secured financing for a Santa Clara stadium. Here’s what needs to happen to make it pencil out:

NFL: Will the league contribute up to $150 million, as it has for other new stadiums? Will it insist that the 49ers and Raiders share a stadium as a condition of league support?

Seat licenses: Will fans be willing to spend thousands of dollars for “rights” to buy season tickets?

Naming rights: How much will a corporation be willing to spend to attach its name to the stadium?

Construction costs: Is the $1 billion price tag realistic? If it proves optimistic, the deal could be a big bust for the team and the city.

Politics: Will the changes to the financing scheme (now putting the Santa Clara stadium authority in the position of borrowing $850 million) lead to a taxpayer revolt and call for a second public vote?